Apple Inc. $AAPL is Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Monarch Capital Management trimmed its Apple stake by 3.5% to 62,763 shares, leaving Apple as its 2nd largest position at 4.2% of the portfolio, valued at about $17.06 million.
• Major institutions — including Norges Bank, Nuveen, Northern Trust and UBS AM — have recently added large Apple positions, and about 67.73% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Apple reported a Q2 beat (EPS $2.01 vs. $1.95) with revenue of $111.18B, announced a $100B buyback and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27, and analysts’ consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a target around $304.31.

Monarch Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 62,763 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,304 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.2% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $17,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after buying an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 price target (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $304.31.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and June-quarter guidance well above Street expectations, giving investors confidence in near-term sales momentum and margins. Apple stages sharpest rally in 9 months as execs cite iPhone, Mac demand in boosting guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management expanded capital returns — a large share buyback ($100B) plus a dividend raise — which supports EPS and buyback-driven upside. Apple (AAPL) Stock: Q2 Earnings Beat ... and $100B Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger-than-expected demand in Greater China and for the iPhone 17 and Mac lineup (including Mac Mini demand for AI work) is driving top-line upside and a re-rating by some analysts. Apple's China sales jumped 28%: now analysts are rethinking AAPL
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised price targets and options activity surged, signaling bullish positioning and expectations for further upside. Analyst moves & options flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple signaled it is retiring its net-cash-neutral target — investors interpret this as freeing cash for a potential large AI acquisition, but timing and impact remain speculative. Apple just gave a subtle clue that a splashy AI acquisition may be in the cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/services expansion — Apple aims to grow its sports/TV footprint (Formula One content and TV deals), which supports longer-term services revenue diversification but is incremental near term. Apple's Cue expects F1 movie sequel...
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned that the global memory-chip shortage is worsening — that creates a real near-term cost/margin headwind and could force pricing or longer-term supplier commitments. Apple Warns the Memory Shortage Is Getting Worse
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious — Wall Street is split on whether the beat is sustainable versus one-time effects (tariff refunds, inventory/timing), leaving valuation and durability questions. Wall Street Splits on Apple After Q2 Beat

Apple Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $280.19 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $260.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.27. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.25 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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